


Time Runs Short

by intheKnickoftime



Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Assassin!Will, Canon retelling let's go let's go, Lauki has marginally less trauma now so yay for them, Lie Detector!Kym, Multi, Partners in Crime, and also EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE, and banter, and of course: watermelon., and oh my gosh am I excited for this, everyone has been uno reverse'd and shuffled, mwahahaa, now Kywi has to suffer, the good stuff, there's going to be angst, workplace banter, y'know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:21:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25943527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intheKnickoftime/pseuds/intheKnickoftime
Summary: The story you know... at least, in theory.What if a different girl had been cursed to hear lies?What if a different boy had become a killer?And if their paths crossed- what then?[a roleswap au. hold onto your hats, wigs, and other personal affects, folks.]
Relationships: Kym Ladell & Kieran White, Kym Ladell & Lauren Sinclair, Lauren Sinclair/Kieran White (background), William Hawkes/Kym Ladell
Comments: 14
Kudos: 51





	Time Runs Short

Running straight into the blast zone of a grenade would not, under most circumstances, be an advisable choice. Nor was it anything Kym had envisioned herself doing this afternoon.

That was, however, exactly what she had ended up doing. Somehow. 

Her patrol had halted, clustered loosely together. The calls for arrest that had filled the air moments before had died out, silenced by the appearance of a grenade in their suspect’s hand, raised above the street.

A momentary stillness fell, punctuated only by the soft sounds of wet snow falling. Krist Schaeffer’s grin was, Kym decided, more than a little unhinged at this point.

“Fools!” he had shouted seconds before. “You think you can stop the Phantom Scythe? You’re nothing compared to us!” And then that wickedly knowing smile had appeared, as had the bomb in his hand. Time slowed, the officers standing rigid and unsure, and wide-eyed pedestrians all turning their eyes to this unfolding scene- a Phantom Scythe supporter, in broad daylight, taunting a full patrol of police. Even the snowflakes seemed to slow in their descent, as if the sky was holding its breath along with the onlookers.

“One more step,” Schaeffer called out triumphantly, “ **and you will die.** ” He brought the grenade up to his face, whisking the pin free with his teeth and casting it aside. The clink of the metal against the pavement was deafening in the tense silence.

Kym grinned, a predatory thing, at the sound of his lie. 

_ Of course. _

As Schaeffer lifted his arm to throw the grenade, the tension that had been building in the crowd erupted. Someone had shrieked, and Kym’s coworkers were herding the citizens out of the way. People were running, disregarding puddles of half-melted snow and slush in their rush to get away. And yet she strode forward, calm against the tide, gaze now trained on the leering man in front of her. 

“Everyone get out! Get- Officer Ladell! What are you doing?” Someone was shouting behind her.

Paying the voice no heed, Kym broke into a run, dashing toward what looked to be the epicenter of the explosion-

-but when the grenade went off, its blast loud enough to set her ears ringing, Kym found herself embroiled not in flame or debris or flying cobbles, but in harmless smoke. She could hear the sounds of confusion from police and bystanders, and had to stifle a cough of her own as she sprinted through the thick cloud, toward the silhouette now attempting to flee.

Amid the shroud of smoke, she found Schaeffer scrambling to escape and launched herself at him, taking the man by surprise as she slammed him to the ground, pressing him unceremoniously against the street.

“Red or blue?” She demanded without further pretense, taking her radio in one hand and pistol in the other, the barrel nudging warningly at his shoulder blades. She saw Schaeffer’s throat bob nervously, his eyes flicking around to look at anything but her.

“W-what?” he stammered, his earlier bravado completely vanished. Krist Schaeffer, she realized, was really something of a coward. “ **I don’t know what you mean-** ”

“Don’t lie to me,” Kym growled. “You were seen planting a bomb in the Homston’s Theater, and fleeing the scene. You know perfectly well what I’m talking about. Now-” the brush of her gun was almost gentle as it trailed up to his neck. “Tell me how to defuse the bomb, and we can resolve this peacefully.”

“I-” There went another moment of hesitation, wasting time they didn’t have. Kym could  _ feel  _ the precious seconds slipping through her hands, grains of sand escaping despite her desperate efforts to grasp them.

_ How long was left? _

_  
_ _ Definitely not long enough. _

  
  
“Stop stalling and answer me!” She yelled again, her voice ragged around the edges, a dangerous tone creeping in.

“ **Blue** ,” Schaeffer croaked out, trembling against the wet stones and the press of her gun. “Please, I-”

“Thank you. That wasn't so hard, was it?” Kym said smoothly, cutting off his pleas and bringing her radio to her mouth. “Ladell here. I have the suspect in custody.”

_ “Ladell? You- what did he say?”  _ The voice crackled from her receiver, the man’s stress was tangible even on the other side of the transceiver. She grimaced sympathetically at his distress.

“...red. Cut the red wire,” she said decisively, feeling Schaeffer jolt against her hold in surprise and protest.

_ “Are you sure?” _

“Yes. The red wire.”

More frantic breathing through the radio. Then silence. The street had become quiet again, pedestrians bearing witness and the rest of her unit waiting with bated breath.

And then the radio crackled to life once more. Kym’s heart leapt, pulse still erratic from the adrenaline.

_ “Bomb disposal unit reporting,”  _ came the voice again.  _ “The threat has been successfully neutralized.” _

Kym heaved a shuddering sigh. 

_ We made it in time. _

Unsteadily, she lifted herself to her feet. Two more officers arrived to haul Schaeffer unceremoniously up after her. The man’s clothes were soaked from laying on the snow-dampened street (as were the knees of Kym’s pants), and his head was slumped in defeat, wisps of hair hiding his face from view.   
  
_ And good riddance.  _

As she stood up, brushing off her uniform, Kym fought the urge to let her hand stray along its usual path to her right coat pocket.

“Officer Ladell!” a voice addressed her, and Kym glanced upward to see her lieutenant striding toward her, lips pressed into an unreadable expression, a stray raven-colored lock escaping from his neatly tied hair.

“Kieran,” she acknowledged, dipping her head. “I-”

“That was quite the stunt you pulled back there,” he said, blue eyes glimmering down at her. Lieutenant Kieran White was taller than her on the best of days, but now especially he seemed to tower over her. Kym wondered momentarily if she was due for a scolding, but then saw Kieran’s mouth twitch upward in a smile.

“Thank you very much,” she said, squashing a grin of her own and bowing as though she was being applauded. “I just- you know, I saw the, uh. The grenade was modified. Something wasn’t right- and chances were, Schaeffer himself would have been caught in the blast rather than escaping if it had been real,” she explained as she righted herself. “So I figured-”

“You and your freaky analytical powers,” Kieran teasingly sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically at her. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he added, “I swear, sometimes you’re almost as bad as Sinclair.”   
  
“Don’t let Lauren catch you saying that,” Kym retorted, laughing. “We’ve made it through today without any casualties, and I’m sure we’d all  _ hate _ to add you to that list.”

Kieran laughed, clapping her on the shoulder.

“You know you’d miss me,” he grinned. And then, face becoming more serious, he added: “Seriously, though- amazing job, Kym. Countless lives would have been lost if we had failed to disable that bomb.”

“Of course, thank you,” she replied, suddenly acutely aware of how exhausted she was. 

“Well! I’m beat,” she announced, yawning widely. “Can we head back to the station? I need to sit down, and grab another cup of coffee. This weather will have us all catching cold if we stay outside much longer.”

Kieran nodded assent, sparing a brief glance upward at the continued snowfall.

“Sure. We’re not needed for anything else here, and our patrol was basically finished up before this scuffle, anyways. Just don’t forget the paperwork that’s been calling your name,” he said with a parting wave. Kym groaned theatrically, leaving the lieutenant’s side and following those of her coworkers who had already started to file down the street.

Walking alone, drifting behind the others, Kym’s hand drifted of its own accord back to that side pocket, fingers tracing the smooth metal thoughtfully.

_ I made it in time today, but- _

_ -that doesn’t change the past. Time that’s been lost… that’s gone forever. _

Hearing lies had proved to be an invaluable skill for Kym, time and time again. It never failed her. But this gift was also something of a curse- hearing the petty falsehoods all around her, unable to rest in an illusion of truth. Human beings lied to each other all the time, and Kym was privy to every scrap of dishonesty she came in earshot of.

Her hand tightened around her pocket watch.

_ I wasn’t able to help when it really mattered though, was I? _

She sighed, her breath escaping in a cloud, shaking her head as though that would dislodge the clinging thoughts.

_ The best thing to do is make the most of the time I have now. _

And yet, and yet- there came that pang of grief, alongside an angry sort of curiosity, always protesting when she told herself to move forward.

Despite all insistence to the contrary, part of Kym Ladell would always long for the truth.

But she could never have foreseen what would happen- who she would join hands with- to uncover it.

\- - - - -

_later that night._

  
  


“Messenger.” Floorboards creaked as a shadow slipped into the room, barely visible through gaps in the boarded windows. The dilapidated house may not have been watertight, the newcomer thought, brushing snow from their hair, but it was inconspicuous. And, though distasteful, they had met in worse places before. “It’s been a while.”

“So it has,” the waiting figure responded. It was cloaked head to toe in black, save for its white mask, shaped like the head of a bird, goggles and beak dappled in moonlight and shadow. “But the Leader is once again in need of your services.”

There was a brief silence, then punctuated by rustling as a pair of thick files were passed between the two.

“Strike tomorrow night. You are to report to me immediately afterward- the usual place. Further instructions are enclosed.”

“Thank you,” came the response, a clipped and strangely cordial thing as the figure turned to leave.

“You’re ready? Haven’t slipped up and become soft in your offtime?” Determining emotion was always difficult when it came to the Scythe’s messengers, but this felt almost like a taunt.

The other figure glanced back over one shoulder to stare at the messenger, catching a gap of light just so.

It was always strange, the messenger reflected, dealing with this one. The assassin’s short golden curls, bright eyes and almost  _ noble _ bearing called to mind images they had seen of angels, or saints rendered in oil portraits.

But then- there it was, the dangerous glimmer in those stormy blue eyes, like the surface of a turbulent ocean. The scarcely concealed coldness, lurking beneath a beautiful facade.

What was a devil, anyway, but an angel that had fallen to the wayside?   
  
“Of course,” came the response, accompanied by a slow smile, close-lipped and mirthless. “You know me. I’ll handle it.” There was a pause to his words as he looked forward, gaze trained on some imaginary horizon. 

“I always do.” were his parting words, flying off the edge of his coat as he departed, just as silent as he had come.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> ...and so we begin. ;)
> 
> WELCOME to the start of my first attempt at a longfic, aka The Concept That Seized Me By The Neck And Would Not Let Go. I'm so so excited to be getting started on this, and am so eager to continue exploring the characters we know and love in a... very different situation than in canon.
> 
> It would be remiss of me to post a roleswap au and not mention the queen of the og role reversal fic for our fandom, the lovely [Ex_Nihilo!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ex_Nihilo/pseuds/Ex_Nihilo) Thank you so much for your pointers and for being willing to yell excitedly in dms with me about this. If you want more roleswap shenanigans, I'd most certainly direct you to go read her fic "Forgive Me, I was Blind" if you haven't yet. <3
> 
> Thank-yous also to Andromicat and Fwootloops for their help with betaing! This first chapter wouldn't look half as good without your insights.
> 
> I do not currently have a set update schedule, as school will be starting up for me again soon, but I will continue working on this as I'm able, and fully intend to see it through to the end. I have _plans_ for this au.
> 
> If you wound up here but have never read Purple Hyacinth, I literally cannot recommend it enough. [go check it out!](https://www.webtoons.com/en/mystery/purple-hyacinth/list?title_no=1621&page=1)
> 
> Kudos and comments are, as always, day brighteners. <3


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